Dear Crabby, What Do You Think of Cancel Culture?

Dear Crabby,

I keep hearing the term ‘cancel culture’ on the news. Can you explain to me what it’s all about and why it makes everyone so upset?

Thanks,

Vernon Void

Dear Vernon Void,

Every December, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) waaay up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan comes out with their Banished Words List. This list includes 10 words that were overused during the year that they deem worthy to be banned from everyday use in the upcoming year. For 2021, some of the banished word offenders were COVID-19, social distancing, and pivot. I don’t know if the folks at LSSU are already taking submissions for 2022, but if they are, I’m nominating ‘cancel culture.’

Just turn on the news, open a newspaper (yes, they still exist.), or scroll through any social media feed, and you’ll find ‘cancel culture’ being talked about. Or rather, screamed about since everyone seems so angry these days. Guess what? ‘Canceling’ someone or something isn’t new. It has been around in some form or another for years. Ever hear of the Salem Witch Trials or McCarthyism? And both political parties are equally guilty of using the term to stir up their bases and push their agendas. Folks are throwing it around whenever they don’t like or agree with pretty much anything. To quote that guy from “The Princess Bride” movie, “You keep using that word. I don’t think you know what it means.”

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I get the sense that originally when the word started getting used it was to make sure certain people or businesses were publicly held accountable for their actions. Now, it seems like when ‘cancel culture’ is used, people automatically scream about censorship or free speech. People also treat it like it’s the end of the world for the person or thing being ‘canceled.’ Take Dr. Seuss for example. Recently, his estate decided to stop publishing six books. Admittedly, they said the books wouldn’t be published anymore because of racist and insensitive imagery. Oh, no! Beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss was CANCELED! People lost their minds. But here’s the thing. You can probably still find these books at a library. No one is going to come and take your copy if you happen to own one of them, and it’s not uncommon for books to stop being published, especially if they’re not big sellers. So, why has everyone got their knickers in a twist? Stop and ask yourself if you’d heard of any of these books, let alone read any of them to your children before all this up-in-arms outrage ensued. Oh, and another thing. Once people started screaming ‘cancel culture,’ sales of Dr. Seuss’s books skyrocketed. Canceled? Hardly. It sounds like the dead guy who earned over $30 million last year and who is the second-highest-paid dead celebrity (behind Michael Jackson) is doing just fine without anyone defending his honor.

In this old curmudgeon’s opinion, the only things worthy of being canceled are cable, gym memberships, and magazine subscriptions.

I hope my answer clears things up for you.

Dear Crabby

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About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

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